The Nu Reality clinic stood three-storeys tall with pristine floor-to-ceiling windows that reflected off the overcast sky above them. The air was slightly humid, and upon closer inspection, there was moistures of perspiration on the lower levels of the windows. The clinic was surrounded by a visual translucent border that hovered at chest-height; a hazy green band that rhythmically flickered between the Nu Reality logo, a diagonal trident, and the company name.

Studying the clinic from her spot in the passenger seat of her mother’s car, Tiffany absent mindedly traced the Nu Reality trident against the glass. Their car passed through the hovering band as they entered the parking, and the speakers chirped.

“Welcome to Nu Reality, the window to your new beginning,” Yuri’s voice seemed to hang low in the air and feed the anticipation inside the car. The chatter had died down some time ago when the first visual confirmation of the impressive Nu Reality clinic had come into view; it seemed as if there was nothing but mountains and gravel until suddenly, there was a three level building framed by two peaks of Mt. Yeon behind.

“Are you excited auntie?” Tiffany’s cousin from the backseat pulled himself closer to the front seat to ask. Tiffany could hear the air escaping from her mother’s nose.

“I’d say you’re excited enough for the both of us.” She said, and Tiffany hummed agreement. Her cousin let out an exasperated sigh before shaking his head.

“You’ll see how amazing this is as soon as you’re in there. I’m just glad you’re willing to give it a try, auntie,” He then flicked hard at Tiffany’s earlobe before ducking away out of her reach. “This one here, is a bit less cooperative though.”

“Ugh, Dean, quit it,” Dean stuck his tongue out towards the rear-view mirror where he could see Tiffany’s eyes glaring back at him. “Dickweed.”

Dean gasped and clapped his palm over his chest in mock-offense. He then signalled to the Nu Reality clinic fast becoming more and more larger-than-life as they got closer. “This isn’t a chore, it’s a delight.”

“Children!” Her mother piped up at the unnecessary banter as she pulled in to a free spot. Turning off the ignition, she scanned over her companions with eager eyes. “Ready to do this?”

Tiffany huffed as Dean zipped out of the vehicle in response. “This better be worth it,” Tiffany said then followed her cousin outside.

--

Taeyeon sat frozen in front of her computer screen, re-reading the e-mail that had just come through. It was from Siwon, whom she could always depend on, a big brother whom she could always trust to have her back.

Siwon was an underground investment broker who made his fortune in betting against the ill-fortune of others. He had phone numbers, names, and anonymous favours at his disposal, and that was exactly why Taeyeon had asked him for his help.

“This is about her, isn’t it?” Siwon asked in a solemn voice when Taeyeon had reached out to him for the first time. She desperately needed to talk to people who had managed to escape the Nu Reality, and she was anxiously scraping the bottom of the barrel on her own. Taeyeon wordlessly sighed into the mouthpiece of her cell phone, and Siwon understood.

That was already a few weeks ago, and in all honesty, Taeyeon thought that Siwon had forgotten about her request for help. He hadn’t gotten in contact with her since the first phone call, and Taeyeon didn’t want to add to his already tremendous plate by being a burden. She didn’t want to be a burden to the only family she still had left. However, as she blinked her eyes at the content of Siwon’s e-mail in her inbox, she finally understood that Siwon just needed some time.

‘Hey baby sis, I hope Yoona got in touch with you by now. I had to call in some favours for this one, so let me know if she doesn’t contact you, I’ll get it done. –Siwon.’

She could only thank Siwon under her breath as she took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes with her palms. Her neck and back muscles were screaming at her to get off the computer and to go home. She glanced at the time on the screen before firing a quick e-mail back to Siwon that everything was good. It was already nearing 9 o’clock, and she hadn’t had anything to eat since early lunch.

Just one more message before taking off, Taeyeon thought to herself, as she reached for her phone on the charger pad. She was going to text Yoona to figure out their next appointment. She had reached out to Taeyeon the day before, advising that it would be best if Taeyeon were to come right to her condo- she relayed that it was the only place she trusted to have reliable surveillance.

However, before she could send her confirmation text, her phone came alive in vibration indicating an incoming call. Her call display only showed that it was ‘Anonymous’. Narrowing her eyes, Taeyeon swiped and brought the phone to her ear.

“Hello, this is Taeyeon speaking.”

“Taeyeon, it’s Sooyoung. Siwon’s wife. I hope you remember me.”

Taeyeon’s eyes widened, and she was in part happy to hear her voice again and also curious as to how she got her cell number. “Oh my gosh, yes, of course. How are you doing?”

Sooyoung’s voice on the other line was polite, but curt- it sounded like she was on the road, driving. “Taeyeon, listen to me. There’s not much time and I need to tell you this before my burner phone’s exposed.”

“What?? Sooyoung, what’s going on?”

“I know what Siwon did for you, and it raised a lot of red flags within the NIS. The intelligence knows that Siwon is just a bystander for now, but it’s you that I’m worried about. They’re ON to you.”

Taeyeon felt her lungs contract at Sooyoung’s words, and she suddenly couldn’t breathe. “…What are you saying?” She squeezed out.

“I’m not assigned to this case in any way, nor am I even supposed to be aware of it. Nu Reality has a lot of powerful connections within the Intelligence, and what you’re doing is compromising that relationship.” There was a distant sound of honking from the other line, and Taeyeon swallowed hard.

“They caught wind that you’ve been digging. You have your toe crossing over that line, and that’s one toe too much for the people higher up,” Taeyeon’s unfocused pupils shook, lost in thought, as she heard another screech of tires from where Sooyoung was. “. Taeyeon, I gotta go.”

“Wait wait wait!” Taeyeon hurriedly interjected.

“What?” Sooyoung snapped.

“You’re with the NIS. And you’re Siwon’s wife. Please don’t tell me you married him for the ‘Intelligence’.” Her hand tightened into a hard fist as she heard Sooyoung sharply exhale.